88 supporters

156 followers

Green Light

RAISED $10,715

for PRODUCTION

88 supporters, 156 followers

Inclusion Statement

Inspired in part by director Edd Blott's embracing of his own bisexuality, our film addresses the fears that arise when one is involved in a culture that deems all nonhetrosexual desire sinful. For this reason, we have developed an incredible team of LGBTQ+ individuals and their advocates.

About The Project

Escaping Freedom began over two years ago with single question...

Are you enslaved to your own idea of freedom?

Escaping Freedom follows two estranged siblings, Vincent and Krystal, who must reconnect after Krystal shows up drunk at Vincent's church late one evening. The subsequent explosion caused by their conflicting approaches to life forces the other to question how they find their freedom. Inspired in part by writer-director Edd Blott’s real life wrestlings with religious doubt and sexual identity, each and every character in this film addresses the theme in their own way feeding a project of awareness, acceptance, and love.

One of the many ways we explore the theme of freedom is through both Vincent and Krystal's sexuality. Vincent, a doubting pastor of a failing church, is forced to bury his affection for a fellow pastor in order to be "free in Christ" and shepherd his flock; while Krystal, a theatre actress and self-proclaimed party girl and free spirit in search of her "true self", finds herself slowly becoming defined by her open sexuality. Ironically, they enter our story seeing clearly these self-destructive behaviors in the other while being completely blind to it in themselves. They are truly two sides of the same coin.

Up to this point, we've funded this film with our blood... Literally. Edd has been selling plasma to get us to where we are. Talk about commitment, right? Unfortunately, his wife noticed he's a bit paler than usual so here we are, looking for members to become a part of our team and help share the message of embracing and loving who you are. We'd love to build this film with you!

MEET THE CHARACTERS

Vincent (Patrick D. Green)Vincent is a pastor living in the Pacific Northwest. During his childhood, his best friend was his foster sister, Krystal. The two regularly found themselves in all sorts of trouble which brought no end of frustration to their parents. Broken by the death of their minister father, Vincent committed his life to the church and began a career behind the pulpit. This decision directly led to a falling out between him and Krystal. Over the last two years, Vincent wrote her letters of an increasingly personal nature. These "confessions" reveal his crisis of faith and a supression of his sexuality. They are documented in the webseries, Letters (Prologue to Escaping Freedom). His best friend is Marcus, a fellow pastor at the church, who Vincent's affection for has developed into something he knows must be kept hidden.

Krystal (Kelly Godell)A self-proclaimed hedonist, Krystal lives every day basking in the moment. After Vincent left town to begin his time at seminary, she decided to dedicate her life to the theatre, a passion she has held since childhood. Today she is a well-respected actress in town with a reputation for bringing "a foul mouth and a good time" wherever she goes. She finds immense pride in always striving to be authentic to who she is, even if she does not like what she sees. After receiving a series of letters from Vincent, Krystal finally responds with a hurtful message for her brother to move on in his life and leave her alone. This response can be seen in Letters, Part 6 (Prologue to Escaping Freedom).

Marcus (Jonathan Daniel Miles)Marcus is a fellow pastor at Vincent's church and his dearest friend. Along with his wife and son, Marcus is known for being a beacon of hope and love to everyone he interacts with in the congregation. However, buried deep under that perfectly maintained exterior is an unbearable shame. Marcus knows as well as Vincent that there is a romantic affection towards each other, but fears for his status and reputation should those desires be entertained.

René (Brian Adrian Koch)René's chief aim in life is to invite people to experience a deeper and more beautiful level of self-awareness and artistic expression. As Krystal's theatre director and mentor, he finds something incredible in her talent and approach to life. This invigorates his own work and she quickly becomes his muse. As their relationship grows, the lines that were once clearly drawn begin to blur and René's position unknowingly shifts from mentor to manipulator.

Katie (Laura Welsh)Despite the stigma of being a single mother, Katie is perhaps the purest member the church has ever had. As their only deaconess, she can always be found serving in some capacity, but is most frequently in the copy room putting together bulletins for the upcoming worship service. Little is known about the father of her daughter and she would like very much to keep it that way. Her attraction to Vincent is the church's worst-kept secret. Being known as a Godly lady, however, she impatiently waits for Vincent to make the first move.

Created alongside the writing of Escaping Freedom, this six-part webseries serves as an experimental prologue to the story we are about to tell. Find out more about Vincent and Krystal's journey in Letters (Prologue to Escaping Freedom).

$1,000

Be an Executive Producer!

Be credited as an Executive Producer in the film, on the poster, and on IMDb.

A personal invite for you and a guest to attend the film's wrap party! Travel and lodging not included.

BONUS: Have your brand included in the final cut of the film!

$5,000

Be Royalty!

All the above PLUS:

Receive a speaking role in the final cut of the film!

Join us at the Portland premiere and after party. Lodging included! Travel included within the United States.

Prior to the premiere, receive a complimentary cut and color from Brice Cochran at Willow Salon PDX.

BONUS: Need a video and rebranding for your organization? We will work with you to create a beautiful and professional style and communication guide as well as produce, direct, and edit one video at no added cost! Feel free to contact us for more information.

$1,000

Be an Executive Producer!

Be credited as an Executive Producer in the film, on the poster, and on IMDb.

A personal invite for you and a guest to attend the film's wrap party! Travel and lodging not included.

BONUS: Have your brand included in the final cut of the film!

$5,000

Be Royalty!

All the above PLUS:

Receive a speaking role in the final cut of the film!

Join us at the Portland premiere and after party. Lodging included! Travel included within the United States.

Prior to the premiere, receive a complimentary cut and color from Brice Cochran at Willow Salon PDX.

BONUS: Need a video and rebranding for your organization? We will work with you to create a beautiful and professional style and communication guide as well as produce, direct, and edit one video at no added cost! Feel free to contact us for more information.

Current Team

About This Team

Edd Blott (Writer, Director, Producer)

Born in Spokane, Washington, Edd Blott spent his entire childhood telling stories. His grandfather, a painter, was instrumental in crafting Edd's love for the arts. In high school, his artistic focus shifted to cinema when he was first exposed to Jean Renoir's Grand Illusion. A newly born cinephile at that moment, his film school was studying world cinema from all eras and experimenting with whatever camera he could get his hands on. His credits include writing and directing the award winning social issues feature film A Tale of Delight, which can now be viewed online for free under a Creative Commons License. When he's not working on his next film project, he dates his wife Heather, helps raise their fivekids, and advocates for mental health awareness. He doesn't remember the last time he slept!

Patrick D. Green (Actor, Producer)

Patrick was born in the deep South, Louisiana that is, and went on to do what only a child of his impeccable and profound introvertedness could do, seek out others to give him interesting things to say. A shy boy who found he could become other people by stepping onto a stage with the words of a playwright securely fastened in his head during his youth in Texas, Patrick determined this was to be his destiny. His conservative parents disagreed so Patrick graduated college with a degree in Criminal Justice and minor fields of study in Psychology and Theatre. He worked in Social Work for 15 years, helping child victims of physical and sexual abuse, before deciding to move to Portland, Oregon where he again focused on that destiny he decided upon as a child, this time focusing on film acting. In addition to studying acting throughout his school years, Patrick has studied with Jana Lee Hamblin, Ted Rooney, and Kristina Haddad.

Aileen Sheedy (Assistant Director)

Aileen Sheedy graduated magna cum laude from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, New York with a B.S. in both Computer Science and Electronic Media, Arts & Communication. After returning home to Portland, Oregon, she worked as a software quality assurance engineer before deciding to start her film production company, Pencil Ink Productions. Aileen has written and directed short films across various genres, from science-fiction thrillers to raunchy romantic comedies to experimental art installations. In 2015, she created a 40-episode multimedia web series called The Misselthwaite Archives, which is a modern teen adaptation of The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett. The show aired on YouTube and has been nominated for the Oregon Actor Awards, the Portland Indie Short Film Awards, and the Literary-Inspired Webseries Awards. Aileen is currently developing a second web series based on The Mystery of Edwin Drood by Charles Dickens. In addition to producing her own projects, she frequently works as an assistant director and script supervisor.

To: Edd Blott

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Before we get started, please confirm the following:

I will not be running a campaign for this project on another platform simultaneouslyI understand that I need to reach at least 80% of my goal to keep the funds raisedI have ( or someone on my team has ) a US bank account and SSN or EIN